AGT Asks Viewers to Standby in Vegas
The All Ways
I didn’t know what to expect for Wednesday’s episode of America’s Got Talent. On the one hand, the first night of Vegas performances were terrible. I’ll never understand why the judges were willing to let 25 of the acts go to New York. On the other hand, Tuesday’s episode proved that the show is capable of getting better. Day three in Vegas was mixed. Some acts were impressive and some acts were a disappointment but none of the acts were amazing. The meager selections of The Top 48 this season leave a lot to be desired.
The magic acts were first. Magicians have never been great on the show and now they are definitely below average. Hawley Magic started with a cheap looking levitation trick, but made it through anyway. The most impressive act of this category was Jarret and Raja, but that is not saying much. The magic acts this season are for the most part unexciting. They have never been great, but even compared to the sub-par acts this season has had, the standard of magic is low.
The band category was next. The poor performances that the judges somehow thought were adequate has made this category a perfect example of just how little America has to offer. The Emily Anne Band and The All Ways were sent home. They were both bad, just in different ways. The acts who got sent through to New York weren’t much better. In fact, The Distinguished Men of Brass and Wordspit, The Illest were sloppy and disorganized. The way they’re going no band act on the show will ever be worth a million dollars. If the judges really based their decisions on true talent, there would not be 48 spots to give away.
The danger category followed. It was confusing as to why the Lion DanceMe team was included. They just seemed like a regular dance crew that wasn’t in any way dangerous and they weren’t good. In any case, the judges sent them through to New York. It seems like the judges are embellishing the selections just to make the final total add up to 48 acts, since so many poor acts have been sent to the live shows. Serengeti Steve was not impressive and was sent home, but he was a lot more dangerous than a dance team that didn’t belong the same category with him.
The kids category started off with robot dancer Lil Babywockee. She was actually probably the most impressive kids act seen this season. She mesmerized the other acts looking on, but the judges were not so sure. Following her was the far less talented tap dancer Lil Starr, who made it through to New York. Singer Danielle Stallings is more talented than any of the other female singers this season, but in this case just being good is good enough . The rappers all got rejected, which finally makes me think the judges are on the right track. Many more categories could have used an entire elimination. The decisions made regarding the novelty acts bordered on tragic as screaming singer Big Barry advances. There were not enough acts that advanced in the aerial category, so Big Barry could have easily been replaced. Of the solo dancers, Turf was clearly the best. He was one of the few acts who was unequivocally talented from the start, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s worth a million dollars.
America’s Got Talent has been better the last few shows, but it is just going from terrible to average. The Top 48 are really not that talented, and pale in comparison to past seasons. I do not expect much from the live shows and I certainly cannot pick a winner at this point. The selection this season is just not good enough to hold anyone’s interest.
Posted on June 28, 2012, in NBC, Network Television, Primetime, Reality TV and tagged agt, america's got talent, big barry, danielle stallings, distinguished men of brass, hawley magic, jerret and raja, las vegas, lil babywockee, lil star, lion danceme, serengeti steve, the all ways, the emily anne band, turf, wordspit the illest. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
Wait! What's A Dial? 
Jeremy, I’m biased in this subject, but just thought I’d let you know that Lion Dance Me performance was victim of the editing gods. If you were to see what they do in it’s entirety, then you’d see why there are in the dangerous category. They can do a variety of performances and most importantly, they aren’t dancers, they are kung fu school with a members who have dream. Check out their website. http://liondanceme.com and you’ll understand.
If this article is indicative of anything it’s that most tv shows lack quality control in general.While some scripted shows with paid actors are ok, the producers edit together cliffhangers out of junk on these so-called ‘reality’ shows. On a show like Idol for example, I would prefer to only see the singing & NOT everyone’s sobbing back story. Imagine how much more singing the audience would hear without being biased by a tear jerking story, not to mention how the backstory alone may influence audience voting. The entire season would be condensed to four episodes if they only showed the music. And through editing contestants can be made to appear foolish and odd by rearranging the context of their comments or actions that apparently makes for better tv. We desperately need a new format for these tv shows because if I have to pay a cable or satellite company, or buy a digital converter to watch crap with commercials why pay for this or watch at all?